NOVPUBWait... what the hell am I thinking?!
I can’t just believe her that easily! How do I know if she’s actually joking or not?!
The clock struck midnight just a while ago. She must have heard it too. Which means it’s already April 2nd—April Fool’s Day is over.
And yet, she claimed it was just an April Fool’s joke?
Maybe I was overthinking it... or maybe she was just trying to make me drop my guard.
There’s a saying, right? That when a person is scared or tense, their body releases certain hormones, making their flesh sour and less appetizing. Maybe she was trying to soothe me with sweet words to keep me from panicking.
I can’t let my guard down. There’s no reset button in life. Right now, I have no room for error. I have to scrutinize every detail, think through every possibility.
Come on, brain. This is what I’ve been saving you for. I didn’t use you much in school, but if I don’t use you now, I might not live to use you ever again.
I still have so many comics and novels I haven’t finished reading...
That is, if I manage to get out of here in one piece.
No, I shouldn’t even be aiming for ‘one piece.’ At this point, as long as I don’t lose any limbs, I’d consider myself lucky. I was already mentally prepared to lose a few fingers.
Despite the sense of calm that had settled over me, I still forced myself to look anxious as I asked her again, just to be sure.
“Are you really not going to eat me? How can I believe you? You haven’t made any concrete promises. How do I know you won’t just change your mind?”
Kan Tsukiyo burst out laughing, clutching her small belly as her legs flailed in the air. After a few seconds, she looked at me with a playful, almost ridiculous expression.
“Pfft, hahahaha! You’re so timid! What do you want me to do? Write you a formal guarantee titled ‘Kan Tsukiyo Absolutely Will Not Eat Ethan An’?”
“That would actually be perfect.”
And if you could sign it and stamp it with a fingerprint, even better.
Kan Tsukiyo’s smile faltered for a moment, her expression turning perplexed. She blinked at me a few times before finally letting out a sigh, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.
“Even if I wanted to, I don’t have a pen or paper right now... And even if I did write you a guarantee, would you actually believe me?”
“...”
Kan Tsukiyo’s eyes narrowed. The playful lilt in her voice vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating tone. Her lips curled into a sly smile.
“Even if I did write you a guarantee, you’d probably just say, ‘It’s just a piece of paper. You could rip it up anytime. It doesn’t prove /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ anything,’ right? And by that logic, the only way to make you feel safe is for me to tie myself up and give you full control... Heh. Are you trying to manipulate me? Luring me into a verbal trap?”
Damn it. She saw right through me...
I thought maybe I could trick her, get her to agree to something while she was in a good mood. But I guess that was wishful thinking.
I had assumed from her cheerful and carefree personality that she was just a clueless airhead. But turns out, she was way sharper than I gave her credit for.
Those occasional flashes of maturity and cunning weren’t a fluke. She’d lived a long, long time. Despite looking like a middle schooler, she was probably older than my late grandfather.
Experience and age bring wisdom. That much was evident.
“Heh. If this were me when I first arrived in the mortal realm, you probably would’ve had me running in circles. But I’ve been here for over five hundred years now,” Kan Tsukiyo said, her voice soft but laced with an eerie calm. “I’ve learned just how crafty you humans can be... in every way imaginable.”
Her eyes slowly opened, and they were no longer round and playful. They were sharp, crimson slits like a pair of crescent moons hanging in the night sky.
And the moment those eyes locked onto me, my body went completely rigid.
Even more so than before. It was as if I’d been completely severed from reality, unable to move a muscle. Not even the instinct to resist remained.
Then, my vision started to dim.
The tick-tock of the clock tower’s second hand became distant, then silent.
Despite sitting right next to that pool of blood, I could no longer smell the stench of iron.
And despite Kan Tsukiyo lying across my lap, it felt as though she had vanished.
No... it wasn’t that she had disappeared.
It was that my senses were being devoured.
“That’s right,” her voice echoed, distant and hollow, as if coming from another world. “I can devour not just your body... but your very senses... playing with you as I please...”
Her words grew fainter and fainter until they became nothing but whispers in the void.
Then... nothing.
Total silence.
Total darkness.
The last thing I saw before my vision was swallowed completely was that gray-red title.
Then... nothing.
Physically, I was still here. But without any connection to my body, it was as though my very existence had been erased.
I couldn’t hear.
I couldn’t see.
I couldn’t feel.
I couldn’t smell.
I couldn’t taste.
Without my senses, I had no proof of my own existence.
There was no longer anything to confirm that I was still in the world, still alive.
In the endless abyss of nothingness...
I was drowning in the void.
I began to doubt everything—my memories, my self, my very existence. It was like being trapped in the philosophical paradox of the ‘Brain in a Vat.’
My mind was slipping.
Spiraling deeper into the abyss.
If I stopped thinking, if I let go...
Would I simply cease to exist?
That thought sent a tidal wave of fear crashing over me.
I used to think I could handle being alone. That even if I were the only person left in the world, I could still keep going.
But if I lost even my sense of self... if I lost my very being...
Would I still be me?
...
...
...
In the pitch-black void, it was as though time itself had stopped.
There was nothing to measure it against...
Nothing but the silence...
Nothing but the void...
No self.
No life.
No existence.
“Here, take it back.”
A voice.
Clear as a bell, shattering through the darkness and pulling me back into reality.
“Clack!”
I gasped, sucking in a lungful of air as my entire body convulsed.
My senses came flooding back in a rush of overwhelming stimuli.
I clapped my left hand over my cheek, as if to confirm that it was still there, while my right hand pressed against my chest, feeling the rapid thudding of my heart.
I was still here. I was still alive. I hadn’t vanished.
Just that realization alone made me want to laugh, to cry, to scream.
Kan Tsukiyo was watching me with an expression that was neither cold nor angry. n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
Instead, she wore a soft, almost sorrowful smile as she quietly said,
“So, please don’t lie to me anymore, okay? I hate being lied to... I really, really hate it,” Kan Tsukiyo said, her voice soft, almost pleading. “I’m willing to trust you, a human, so can you trust me too? Your name isn’t Bai Qi, is it?”
That’s right. It was a request, not a command. Not a demand. A request.
Despite possessing the absolute power to crush me without effort, she didn’t force me. She lowered herself, made herself small, and asked me for something.
My name is Ethan An. Not Bai Qi. Of course not. My grandfather gave me this name. It’s a name I should be proud of.
Once that sank in, I took a deep breath and nodded firmly. If she was willing to trust me, then I wouldn’t betray that trust.
“I understand. I believe you. From now on, I won’t lie to you—not even once.”
“Thank you...”
Kan Tsukiyo’s smile was warm, almost gentle. Above her head, the gray-red title shimmered and shifted to a cool, calming blue.
She perked up immediately, sitting up and sliding onto my lap, leaning comfortably against my chest as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“And besides, I’m also in that class, you know? That should be enough proof that I’m on the peaceful side.”
That class...?
So, Class 222 really is special?
I asked her directly.
“Is there something... off about our class?”
“Huh? You didn’t know? I thought everyone was already aware, even if nobody says it out loud. No one really gets too close to anyone else, and everyone seems to have their own... secrets. We just don’t interfere with each other’s business.”
So it’s true...
I’d suspected it before—that the school intentionally gathered a bunch of abnormal people into one class. And based on what Kan Tsukiyo just said, that suspicion was right on the mark.
The principal... or rather, Lily’s mother. Only she would have the authority and resources to pull something like this off without attracting attention.
Lily did mention that the principal wanted me to join some kind of organization and that she’d find a time to explain everything to me in detail...
I guess that’s when I’ll finally get all the answers.
“I think I’m one of the more obvious ones,” Kan Tsukiyo said, chuckling. “There are probably already quite a few people who know I’m a ghoul.”
“What do you mean? Are ghouls that easy to spot?”
“Not exactly. It’s just that... well, since I have to eat these bodies for my job, I end up absorbing a lot of corpse energy. The more sensitive noses in the class must’ve picked up on it by now.”
“I see...”
Now that I think about it, Lillian’s sense of smell was pretty sharp too. Could she have already known that Kan Tsukiyo was a ghoul?
No. Knowing her, she probably already knew the true identities of all our classmates. With Ms. Shirley gathering intel for her, there’s no way she wouldn’t have figured everything out by now.
I wonder... if I asked her, would she tell me?
“Now that you know my secret, and since we’re in a mutual trust relationship now, that means we’re friends, right?” Kan Tsukiyo said, her voice bright and cheerful. “So, what should I call you? Lil’ Transparent, like Lyna does? Hmm, that doesn’t feel right...”
Kan Tsukiyo hugged her knees and thought for a moment before snapping her fingers.
“Got it! How about... Cheng-kun?”
“Uh...”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. Somehow, I knew it would come to this.
“Why Cheng-kun? Why can’t you just call me An-kun?”
“Hehe~ Calling someone by their last name feels so distant, doesn’t it? And we’re already such close friends, aren’t we?”
“...”
Yeah, we’re definitely ‘close’ now. Close enough for her to have stolen all my senses and trapped me in an endless void of darkness (insert sarcastic eye roll here).
“Cheng-kun~ Cheng-kun~ Cheng-kun~”
Kan Tsukiyo kept calling my name, her eyes sparkling with delight.
Then, as if she’d just remembered something, she tilted her head and looked at me seriously.
“Oh yeah, Cheng-kun, are you hurt? Your movements seem a bit stiff. The wound should be on your lower abdomen, right? About two fingers below your navel, about half a foot long.”
“What?! How do you know that?!”
Not just the location, but the exact size too?!
“Come on, is it that surprising? I’m a ghoul. I know the human body inside and out. When I was hugging you just now, I felt your abdominal muscles twitching. Even without looking, I could tell you’d been hurt there. The muscle fibers are torn—it must’ve been a blade. And you’ve got some other scratches too. There’s corpse energy clinging to them, so I’m guessing a zombie got you. No wonder you didn’t look too surprised when you saw me eating someone. You’ve already seen your fair share of monsters, haven’t you?”
Damn. Impressive. You could be a detective. How about changing your last name to Conan?
“Hehehe~ Since there’s already a wound, why not let me have a little taste~?”
Kan Tsukiyo suddenly giggled mischievously. She slipped off my lap, turned around, and reached for the hem of my shirt.
“Hey! Didn’t you promise not to eat me?!”
“I just want a taste~ Just one little lick~”
“No!”
“Then just a nibble... No, just a lick... Just a tiny lick, okay? Pleeeeease~?”
You little monster!
Her tone was exactly like Cora’s whenever she tried to sneak food in the kitchen before dinner!
I grabbed her shoulders, trying to push her away, but she just wouldn’t quit. Her tiny hands kept trying to pull down my pants—wait, what?! Why are you trying to pull down my pants?! What are you even thinking?!
Just as I was about to hold onto my waistband, Kan Tsukiyo shifted her focus and lunged for my shirt, trying to yank it over my head.
Damn it! A feint! She played me!
“Hehehe~ Cheng-kun, tonight you’re all mine~” Kan Tsukiyo giggled, her tongue sliding over her lips as she tried to pull my shirt off.
“No! Help! Somebody! Molestation!”
I’m not giving in! Not a chance!
Wait... isn’t this situation a little backward?
How did I become the victim here?!
If I’m the damsel in distress, then isn’t this the part where the hero shows up to save me?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, a voice rang out, cutting through the night like a blade of ice.
“Let. Go. Of. Him.”
Kan Tsukiyo and I both froze, our heads snapping in the direction of the voice.
There she was, standing in the moonlight.
“Let. Go. Of. Him.”
Her voice was icy, cold enough to freeze the very air around us.
She stood there, holding a blood-stained blade. Fresh blood dripped from the tip, splattering onto the ground.
Her face was spattered with blood too, but she hadn’t bothered to wipe it off. The crimson droplets contrasted against her porcelain skin like some morbid artwork.
Her expression was as blank as ever, but her aura was entirely different.
Like a sword drawn from its scabbard, sharp and lethal.
Like a warrior emerging from a battlefield, drenched in blood and seething with murderous intent.
Above her head, the title glowed a deep, untainted red.
Pure, undiluted killing intent.
Snowy Jiang... had arrived.
